In the last decade, cancer cases increased worldwide by 33 percent, mostly due to population aging, population growth and changes in age-specific cancer rates: this is one of the key conclusions of the new report from the Global Burden of Disease Cancer Collaboration, just published by Christina Fitzmaurice and colleagues of the University of Washington, Seattle on JAMA Oncology. The report, freely accessible in full, estimated new cancer cases (globally 17,5 millions in 2015) and deaths (8,7 millions) using vital registration system data, cancer registry incidence data and verbal autopsy data.
For men, the odds of developing cancer during a lifetime are 1 in 3: prostate cancer is the most common cancer globally in men (1,6 million cases); tracheal, bronchus and lung (TBL) cancer are the leading cause of cancer mortality. For women, the odds of developing cancer during a lifetime are 1 in 4: breast cancer is the most common cancer (2,4 million cases) and the leading cause of cancer deaths. The most common childhood cancers are leukemia, other neoplasms, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and brain and nervous system cancers.
«Cancer control, which requires a detailed understanding of the cancer burden as provided in the Global Burden of Disease study, is of utmost importance given the rise in cancer incidence due to epidemiological and demographic transition» the authors conclude.
The 25-page report, full of tables and figures, is accompanied by a 6-minute radio interview with first author Christina Fitzmaurice.
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